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Salem Witch Trials
The Salem Witch Trials were a devestating and tragic series of events, both for ordinary humans and for witches which took place in the town of Salem in Massachusetts. The Trials In the winter of 1690, Father Joseph Salerno arrived in Salem with the Witchblade and a company of other priests who had fled from the Vatican. They wintered in Salem, unaware that the Witchblade's influence on the town would cause widespread paranoia. Some now believe that Elizabeth Parris and Abigail Wlliams had actually touched the blade, causing their hallucinations. When they left, in the spring of 1691, the damage had already been done. Solomon Kent, a witch himself, took advantage of the paranoia in order to avoid retribution after accidentally killing a woman named Sarah Oswold, whom he thought he loved, and declared that she had been possessed of the Devil. The coven of which he belonged -- good witches -- attempted to stop him from going down the dark path he began. As a result, he turned the paranoia against his own coven. The surviving members quickly acted condemned his soul to Purgatory. In actuality, the town was home to many more witches -- both evil and good. One such evil witch, Mary Sibley, had an inordinate amount of influence over the town of Salem and its politics thanks to her husband George Sibley's wealth. She schemed with her servant and fellow witch Tituba to take advantage of the growing panic and paranoia, inciting a witch panic and summoning witch hunters such as Cotton Mathers to the town. They also successfully lured the demon Hans and Greta Strauss to the town to further incite their panic. She intended to rid the town of Puritans and to fuel the Grand Rite with the innocent blood that would be spilled. The call for witch hunters also lured the warlock Hiram Shaw and Matthew Tate to the town. In 1692, John Alden returned to Salem from war to find that the witch panic had taken hold in the town. Mercy Lewis had fallen under the influence of witches and was, unbeknownst to most, being used by Mary Sibley to accuse innocent people of witchcraft. John Alden and Isaac Walton secretly witnessed the beginning of the Grand Rite -- unknowingly making them enemies of the witches of Mary's coven. As more innocents were killed -- such as Giles Corey and Bridget Bishop -- the Grand Rite grew ever more powerful. Seeking to take advantage of this, the Master sought to summon an ancient demon to Earth. The Slayer of the time, Samantha Kane, discovered this scheme while investigating accusations against Sarah Dinsdale. Though she succeeded in preventing this from occurring, she died in the process. It was at roughly this time that the Grand Rite reached completion, unleashing a plague upon Salem that would only affect those without magical blood. Meanwhile, Hiram Shaw coerced Mary Sibley into expanding the witch hunt to include good witches who would be unaffected by the plague. However, when Maria Owens escaped her execution by hanging and was banished to an island, he demanded real witches being executed had to be burned at the stake in less-public executions. Soon after this, Vidar presented Ingrid and Freya Beauchamp as witches -- fearing that the rampant use of magic by the two witches would expose all of the actual spellcasters in the area. They were burned at the stake. In vengeance, Joanna Beauchamp cut his ear. As Hiram stole more powers from accused witches, he soon acquired the title of Sorcerer Supreme -- despite knowing that he would be damning his entire family line through his actions. During this course of events, Matthew Tat seduced Melinda Warren and began an affair with her. He stole her powers -- though left her alive. When she discovered his treachery, she threatened to expose him -- so he accused her of witchcraft. After her arrest, he visited her in prison and taunted her. Still able to use some magic, however, she cursed him into a locket that could only be opened by one of her descendants. Just before being burned at the stake, Melinda prophesied the existence of the Charmed Ones. Hiram Shaw realized that a good witch had escaped his notice -- Abigail Harkness -- because of her close relationship with his son Obadiah Shaw. When Hiram's wife Sarah Shaw mysteriously died, he blamed Abigail. She fled from Salem before she could be arrested. Aftermath Ultimately, the magical community of Salem scattered. The Owens Family continued to practice magic on Maria's Island, but most other witches fled from Massachusetts and would remain gone for centuries. Three closely connected circles of witches -- comprised of eighteen families -- fled. One of these circles ultimately ended up in Chance Harbor, Washington. One coven relocated to New Orleans and -- thanks to the actions of Hiram Shaw -- refused to acknowledge the sovereignty of the Sorcerer Supreme. They declared the most powerful witch of their coven to be the Supreme Witch -- using powerful magic to ensure the title had a lineage of its own. They also established a council to act against crimes between witches, ensuring the Salem Witch Trials could never occur again. Some refugees settled in other areas -- such as Mystic Falls, in Virginia. Abigail Harkness founded a secret, hidden town in Colorado comprised only of witches called New Salem. In 1693, Hiram Shaw lost the title of Sorcerer Supreme as it was reclaimed by the Ancient One. Sources Although the Salem Witch Trials were a real historical event, this account melds from the television series Salem, Charmed, Witches of East End, American Horror Story: Coven, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, The Secret Circle, Sleepy Hollow, The Vampire Diaries, Witchblade as well as the movie Practical Magic and from Marvel comics. In this universe, the body count is significantly higher than it was in reality. Category:History